TODAY'S FAMILY & KIDS ACTIVITIES IN ROCKLAND-OCT 24

Whatever you're looking to do with your family and kids-libraries, festivals, museums, arts & crafts-you'll find it in today's list of fun and educational activities for families and kids in Rockland. Check out the NY Metro Parents' calendar for upcoming events!

This class is held over six consecutive Thursdays. Class content covers relaxation, breathing techniques, and coaching techniques are emphasized. Includes tour of Nyack Hospital's Maternity Center. Registration is required.

Kiku: The Art of the Japanese Garden pays homage to hanami, the traditional custom of enjoying the delicate beauty of flowers, with extensive floral displays of Japanese anemones, toad lilies, resurrection lilies, camellias, tea olives, and carefully trained chrysanthemums.
The chrysanthemum, kiku in Japanese, is the most celebrated of all Japanese fall-flowering plants, and hundreds of meticulously trained kiku will be on display in the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory. Stroll the grounds to explore a Japanese tree tour and enjoy haiku in the perennial garden. Special weekend events spotlight the arts of bonsai and ikebana, as well taiko drumming, and celebrate the importance of flowers in Japanese culture.
All-Garden Pass also includes admission to the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory, Everett Children's Adventure Garden, Rock Garden, and Tram Tour.
October 5-27 (including Columbus Day).

Pumpkin sculptures of spooky scarecrows, frightening spiders, sneaky snakes, and more await discovery at every turn in the Everett Children's Adventure Garden. The display includes more than 500 intricately carved pumpkins that are sure to capture imagination. Special events run throughout the month. Through Oct. 31 in the Everett Children's Adventure Garden.
Haunted Pumpkin Garden Activities
Tuesdays-Fridays; 1:30-5:30pm
Saturdays and Sundays, and Monday, October 14; 10am-5:30pm in the Everett Children's Adventure Garden:
- Join a Halloween Parade (meet at the Pumpkin House, weekdays 1:30pm; weekends 1pm and 3pm.
- Collect fallen fruits and seeds in a scavenger hunt bag.
- Put on your own performance in the Pumpkin Puppet Theater.
- Enjoy spooky readings from favorite Halloween storybooks on weekends (2pm and 3pm).

Bring your family for a living history lesson and learn about the role Stony Point played in the American Revolution. Check out an 18th century Soldier's Camp Saturdays 10am-4pm and Sundays 12-4pm. See an artillery drill featuring the battlefield's 6-pounder cannon Saturdays and Sundays at 3pm. Battlefield tours are held Saturdays and Sundays at 2pm. All events are weather and staffing permitting. Call before your visit to confirm.

Master storyteller Jonathan Kruk offers a dramatic reading of Washington Irving's classic tale, "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow." featuring the Headless Horseman, Ichabod Crane, Brom Bones, and Katrina Van Tassel. Flavored with live spooky organ music by Jim Keyes. Event takes place at the Old Dutch Church, just across the street from Philipsburg Manor. Oct. 5-6, 11-13, 18-20, 25-27
Nov. 1-2. Admission for this 45-minute performance by timed ticket only, which must be purchased in advance at hudsonvalley.org.

Taking the tale of The Legend of Sleepy Hollow to its darkest extremes, Horseman's Hollow returns for a third year of highly entertaining haunted mayhem, now expanded by popular demand to 13 evenings.
Philipsburg Manor transforms into a terrifying landscape ruled by the undead, the evil, and the insane. Visitors begin walking a haunted trail, stumbling upon scary scenes of a town driven mad by the Headless Horseman. The Hollow's unfortunate inhabitants are all too ready to keep visitors from ever leaving. Creatures, human and otherwise, lurk in the shadows, ready to terrify the unsuspecting, while incredible special effects disorient and unsettle. Elaborate costumes and the work of award-wining feature-film makeup artists make it all too real.
Those who survive the trail must still negotiate a twisted maze of horrors too terrible to describe, only to end up in the lair of the Horseman where a party is being thrown in his honor. Heads will definitely roll...maybe even your own!
Attracting widespread media attention including a feature on CBS national news, this event is NOT suitable for small children or the timid, but it is one of Westchester's premier haunted attractions, right in the heart of the village of Sleepy Hollow.
WARNING: This event is NOT suitable for adults who are claustrophobic, have heart or respiratory conditions, are prone to seizures, or have other chronic health conditions. Recommended for ages 10 and older.
October 5-6, 11-12, 18-20, 25-27; November 1-2. All admissions are by timed ticket only, which must be purchased in advance at hudsonvalley.org.

The new attraction will include a ride through the Cretaceous and Jurassic periods with more than two-dozen animatronic dinosaurs up to 40 feet long which move, snarl, roar, and spit.
In anticipation of the new exhibit, the Bronx Zoo is offering New Yorkers a chance to vote for their favorite dinosaur species at bronxzoo.com/dino and win tickets to see the dinosaurs. Included in the vote: long-necked Brachiosaurus, the intimidating Tyrannosaurus rex, the gator-like Baryonyx, the massive Triceratops, or the flighted Quetzalcoatlus. Exclusive Bronx Zoo Dinosaur Safari stickers that can be used with a safari field guide will be given to those who vote.
Dinosaur Safari will include a ride through a two-acre area of the zoo, and will highlight the physical or behavioral adaptations many share with species that are alive today.
This limited engagement will through Sunday, November 3, and will be included in the Total Experience Ticket.
A 20% discount is offered with online purchases for Monday and Tuesday visits. Tickets can be purchased in advance at bronxzoo.com/dino.

Celebrate a New York Halloween tradition with safe, family-friendly activities. Annual favorites including a haunted walk-through adventure - The Museum of UnNatural Mysteries - headline the festivities and have been enhanced for this year's Dragons and Dinosaurs theme. Visitors will enjoy magic shows, musical performances, and costume parades in addition to traditional guest favorites including the hay maze, extinction graveyard, carved pumpkin demonstrations, treat stations, and seasonal craft workshops. Attractions and activities embrace the spirit of the season and highlight wildlife like bats, snakes, and nocturnal animals. Note: some activities require an additional fee.
Boo at the Zoo activities include:
The Museum of UnNatural Mysteries
This Museum, created by Dr. B. Zarre, houses a remarkable collection of mysterious creatures, evidence of how the dinosaurs were destroyed, and anomalies collected from earth and space. Dr. B. Zarre has amassed this through years of exploration and adventure, and brought this fascinating "believe it or not" collection as a special exhibition exclusive to the Bronx Zoo. Location: by Somba Village. Time: 11am-5pm.
3-D Carved Pumpkin Demonstrations
Professional pumpkin carvers from Sand Sculpture USA will be demonstrating their skill and displaying intricate pumpkin carvings that cannot be missed. Location: Dancing Crane Plaza.
Time: 11am-5pm.
Costume Parade
Visitors can join the enchantment of a Halloween Parade. Hand-made puppets and props built by master costumers will be part of the fun as participants march through the zoo alongside an array of characters from the Alice Farley Dance Company. Location: starts at Zoo Center. Times: 12pm and 2pm. Photos will be available at the end of each performance.
Musical Theater: Beasts of the Magical World
This puppetry musical tells stories of owls and sorcerers, snakes, komodo dragons and frogs and magic. It was created by acclaimed puppeteer Noel MacNeal of Sesame Street, Bear in the Big Blue House, and numerous Nickelodeon TV series. Puppets were created by Puppet Kitchen of NYC. Music by Jim Camacho. Location: Asia Plaza Theater. Times: 12:30pm, 1:30pm, and 2:30pm.
Hay Maze
Let yourself get lost at the zoo with a Halloween maze filled with sudden starts, stops and lots of adventure. Location: Butterfly Patio. Time: 11am-5pm.
Live Music
Gigi and the Lend me a Hand Band will lead zoo audiences on a musical adventure with the Gigi's Dino-mite Prehistoric Party. Audiences will be invited to participate in animal-themed musical performances, songs and dances, and games. Location: Tent by bear exhibit. Times: 11:30am, 1pm, and 3pm.
Animal Themed Magic Shows
Enjoy a Boo at the Zoo family tradition with remarkable sleight-of-hand and optical illusions from magic man David Levitan. Location: Tent by bear exhibit. Times: 12pm, 2pm, and 4pm.
Treat Stations
Special locations around the park will help sweeten your visit. Time: 11am-5pm.
Crafts Workshop
Make a one-of-a-kind kimodo dragon puppet. Location: Dancing Crane Plaza. Time: 11am-4pm.
Extinct Animal Graveyard
Learn about endangered and extinct animals at this spooky display. Location: Mouse House lawn.
Creature Chats
Bronx Zoo animal experts celebrate wildlife iconic to Halloween season.
Visit bronxzoo.com for full schedule.

This Cole Porter hit offers a host of glorious songs with some dazzling rhymes, and a witty script about a former husband-and-wife acting team at war with each other while trying to stage a musical version of Shakespeare's "The Taming of the Shrew." The show, whose original 1948 production won five Tony awards including Best Musical, scintillates with classic Cole Porter numbers, "Wunderbar," "Always True To You In My Fashion," "Why Can't You Behave," "Too Darned Hot," "I Hate Men," and "Brush Up Your Shakespeare." Show runs through November 10, 2013. Wednesday, Thursday, and Sunday matinees including lunch; Thursday, Friday Saturday, and Sunday Evenings including dinner.

The tri-state area's biggest, most exciting, most electrifying Halloween event returns for a whopping 25 nights in 2013! See more than 5,000 individually hand-carved, illuminated Jack O' Lanterns in this elaborate walk-through experience. Meander through an historic, 18th-century riverside landscape and discover a breathtaking display - all made of Jack O' Lanterns! Stroll through the Tunnel O' Pumpkin Love and witness the incredible sight of gourd-filled Jack-in-the-Boxes springing up and bouncing around. See slithering ground snakes, a giant spider web, and go gaga over a collection of shrunken Little Monsters. Gaze in amazement at a towering pumpkin bonfire and a working doomsday grandfather clock. A giant sea serpent adds some hiss to the Undersea Aquarium while comical, squash-eating Venus pumpkin traps sprout in the garden.
New additions this year to Blaze's perennially popular 'Jurassic Park' include a pterodactyl and a brontosaurus. Gawk at more Jack O' Lanterns than ever before. Plus, making its debut at this year's Blaze, and featuring more than 20 new works from professional artists, the Museum of Pumpkin Art will be the first ever exhibition space devoted to sculptural works inspired by (but not made from) pumpkins.
Tens of thousands of visitors experienced last year's sold-out Blaze. Complete with sound effects, elaborate synchronized lighting and the second volume of a brand-new all-original soundtrack by recording artist Richard Christy, this not-to-be-missed spectacle is the area's most innovative Halloween happening. All admissions are by timed ticket only, which must be purchased in advance. Buy tickets online at hudsonvalley.org or call 914-366-6900. October 5-6, 11-14, 17-20, 24-31; November 1-3, 8-11.

Kykuit, the six-story stone house and rolling hilltop estate that served as home to four generations of Rockefellers, is open to visitors beginning Saturday, May 4, through Sunday, Sep. 30, and Nov. 1-11. Open daily Oct 1-31. Kykuit's modern and classical art collection, architecture, and expansive gardens are consistently rated the top attraction in the lower Hudson Valley, and draw tens of thousands of visitors annually. Kykuit, which means "lookout" in Dutch, includes a six-story stone house, multiple terraced gardens, art galleries, outdoor classical and modern sculpture, and commanding Hudson River views. Its hilltop location overlooking the Hudson River and the Palisades is 500 feet above sea level. Visitors to Kykuit learn the story of the Rockefellers, beginning with John D. Rockefeller, founder of Standard Oil, whose business acumen made him the richest man in America in his day. He later became the country's first great philanthropist. By his death in 1937, he had given away more than half his fortune through various philanthropic programs. Visitors can choose from four tours: Classic, Grand, Timesaver, and Selected Highlights. The Classic, ideal for first-time visitors, is a shorter experience than the comprehensive, three-hour Grand. Besides the mansion, both of these tours include time in Kykuit's art galleries, gardens, and Coach Barn, with its collection of horse-drawn carriages, vintage automobiles, and equestrian equipment. The 90-minute Timesaver is ideal for those on tighter schedules, while Selected Highlights maximizes time in the gardens. Visitors can buy tickets online in advance, choosing the exact tour, time, and date they want to visit. Tickets are on sale at hudsonvalley.org. Historic Hudson Valley recommends advanced ticket buying, particularly for weekend tours, which fill up quickly. Besides online, tickets may be purchased by calling 914-631-8200 (service charge additional) or at the Kykuit Visitor Center at Philipsburg Manor in Sleepy Hollow. All tours start at the Kykuit Visitor Center; doors open at 9am.

This weekly market features 35 vendors with organic and traditional produce, artisan breads and cheeses, local honey, homemade pastas and sauces, local wine, organic hummus and prepared foods, gourmet olive oils and balsamic vinegar, homemade jams, spices, fresh fish, and more. Parents can shop while their kids enjoy music, crafts, and other special events. Check out the web site for details of weekly highlights. Sundays through November 24.

Families are invited to learn about nature in a fun interactive way. Each guidebook sends participants looking for clues along nature center trails, which range from casual to challenging. Saturdays and Sundays through November.

The Nyack Art Collective teams up local artists and businesses for a special events to be held the first friday of each month through the end of the year. Beginning July 5, and each First Friday of the month, downtown Nyack will feature art openings, interactive "happenings," body and face painting, music, jugglers, and more.

This little gem of a nature center in nearby Orange County hosts a special exhibit this year on mastodons, a cool subject for many kids. And at 2:30pm, young visitors can join a Museum Educator to "Meet the (live) Animal" of the week. Exhibit runs each weekend through December.

Jill will help artists of all ages design seasonal or holiday-themed crafts. Her selection includes jewelry boxes, candy dishes, mugs, plates, picture frames, vases, and more. Pieces can be taken home that day or left for glazing. Fee includes instruction. Pre-registration is requested. Toddler workshops are held each Monday and Tuesday. All-ages workshops are held each Friday.

The JCC hosts this monthly La Leche League program, All You Ever Wanted To Know About Breast Feeding, with Instructor Elly Gail Egenberg, an Accredited lactation counselor & Le Leche League Leader. Topics include the benefits of breastfeeding, new beginnings, overcoming breastfeeding obstacles, and weaning. The group meets the first Monday of every month through January 6.

The opening of the Erie Canal in 1825 assured the Hudson River a vital role in the evolution of what would become New York City into the nation's industrial and financial powerhouse - its "Empire City." The same year, artist Thomas Cole was "discovered," setting in motion a tradition of painting that transformed American art, much as the Erie Canal was rapidly transforming the landscape. For the most part, artists ignored the industrialization of the region; Cole was a strong proponent of the British traditions of the sublime and the beautiful, and his melding of these romantic ideals to direct observation of nature became the mainstay of American landscape in the mid-19th century.
The ideal expressed in thousands of Hudson River School canvases from the 1820s through the turn of the century constituted a moving vocabulary many artists clung to, even decades after the reality of the landscape had changed. It was not until the first decade of the 20th century, as artists like Robert Henri and John Sloan turned their attention to the urban scene, that American art shifted its focus from bucolic landscapes to the cities, the towns, and the crowds, especially the raucous urban scene of Manhattan - by then the nation's most important metropolis.
The movement away from painting the land to painting the life on the street is often seen as a clean break with the depiction of the landscape, and with landscape painting generally as a mainstay of American art in the face of European Modernism. However, artists continued to paint the Hudson River, as well as its tributaries, the Harlem and East Rivers, and the great harbor of New York City into which they flowed. What was different was their approach. Having jettisoned the romantic ideals of their forebears, artists like Henri and Sloan, and later, Georgia O'Keeffe, George Ault, Edward Hopper, and Preston Dickinson, celebrated the changing way of life along the city's waterfront. As the century progressed, they did so with sharper focus and with ideals borrowed from the Machine Age. Instead of majestic mountain ranges, their subjects were the arching bridges, swinging cranes, and streamlined ocean liners resting in the harbor. Artists took the elements of the Sublime, combined them with Modernism's interest in structure and form, and applied them to the manmade industrial one - thereby creating a new visual vocabulary for the 20th century - the Industrial Sublime.
"Industrial Sublime," the exhibition, takes as its focus the shift in both style and sensibility during the years 1900 to 1940, and explores the development of a new mode of landscape painting and pictorial ideals suited to America's role as a global industrial power.
Museums lending works to the exhibition of more than 60 paintings include The Metropolitan Museum of Art; The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum; The Art Institute of Chicago; Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden; Munson-Williams-Proctor Arts Institute; High Museum of Art; Museum of Art, Ft. Lauderdale; Georgia Museum of Art; The New-York Historical Society; Museum of the City of New York; Newark Museum; the Phillips Collection; Flint Institute of Arts; Smithsonian American Art Museum and the Norton Museum of Art.
The exhibition, accompanied by a fully illustrated catalogue, is co-curated by Kirsten Jensen, Curator, Hudson River Museum and Bartholomew F. Bland, Director of Curatorial Affairs, Hudson River Museum. Additional essayists for the publication include Wendy Greenhouse, co-author of "Chicago Modern 1893-1945: Pursuit of the New;" Katherine E. Manthorne, professor of modern art of the Americas, Graduate Center, City University of New York; and Ellen E. Roberts, Harold and Anne Berkley Smith Curator of American Art, Norton Museum of Art.
"Industrial Sublime: Modernism and the Transformation of New York's Rivers, 1900-1940" is the fifth exhibition in the Hudson River Museum series, "The Visitor In the Landscape."
The exhibition will travel to the Norton Museum of Art, March 20-June 22, 2014.
The exhibition and the accompanying catalogue have been made possible by a generous grant from the Mr. and Mrs. Raymond J. Horowitz Foundation for the Arts, Inc. The exhibition catalogue is supported, in part, by Furthermore: a program of the J.M. Kaplan Fund.
On view through January 17, 2014.

Parents of prospective students can talk to one of the school's early childhood teacher while their child plays nearby in a beautiful classrooms. Mondays through June 2 other than Oct. 14, Nov. 25, Dec. 23, Dec. 30, Jan. 20, Feb. 17, March 17, April 14, and May 26.